The same debut album yielded another party hit in "It's A Party" with Zhane, and then the second album dropped last year giving us the dance floor delights of "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See" and then the electro-funky "Dangerous" followed up by the remix to "Turn It Up", the all new "Knight Rider Theme" sampling "Fire It Up" that did just that in the charts and in the clubs. So what can we expect from a talented individual who has attained so much commercial success ? An album full of radio and club hits, or will he stay true to his roots sown so long ago with Leaders of the New School. Busta hails from the time when you would be expecting a new classic hip hop tune or album almost all the time ... the time that some have called the Golden Age. Has this also affected him ? The only way to find out was to dive into the album.

What we find is a host of different styles fused into this set. We do have the underground tracks, the ultra-pop hits, the radio friendly tracks, the dance floor fillers, all laced with Busta's raspy voice (and sometimes production). Busta himself has spoken of his predicament, claiming that he would keep it true to himself, and he does in his own way. His whole allure to the mainstream has been his Mad Hatter-esque whackiness, the roar of the dragon, and his ability to write catchy tunes without being overtly commercial. We see this in evidence on the lead single "Gimme Some More", a slow moving orchestral piece backed by a prodding bass line and Bussa Bus rhyming double time. Almost (gasp) Timbaland like but not. This is fresh and original, the drawback being that it only lasts just over two minutes. This will definitely be on radio play lists. Long time collaborater DJ Scratch produced this one as well as two tunes styled towards the club fiends: "Party Is Goin' On Over Here" and "Do The Bus A Bus". The former utilises a little orchestral sound just like "Gimme Some More" and is also slow shuffly affair - it's ok. The other track procures a hint of deja-vu with the familar sample, although this is more likely to be a commercial hit than "Party...". In a similar vein we have "Take It Off" with a hint of salsa that is just as likely to be a hit, and encompasses a Hawaiian guitar as the bread-and-butter hook takes effect. I preferred this - it felt more summery and on a party vibe as Busta intoned his lyrical vibes of making you dance. The result? A straight up party banger. Then we have "Keepin' It Tight" that has he spits as lazily as the production sounds, a bit too much of earlier works. As is "Tear Da Roof Off", shuffling on just like "Keepin It Tight" did, but expect the commercial mainstream to embrace this with open arms. Still more for these cats, they get the obviously bouncy "Hot Sh** Makin' Ya Bounce". Itz yourz!

Elsewhere we see the flexing of different styles. We have Black Sabbath's Ozzy Osbourne on the remake for "Iron Man" on "This Means War!!", continuing a long line of rap/rock collaborations. This isn't too bad as I thought it would be, maybe I've been anaesthetized with past efforts, and with Puffy, Clef and even Canibus taking part it isn't really new, but all that has really been done is an electric guitar was looped... hmmm where have I heard of loops before ? Hip hop has usually been made up of looped drums and bass lines, but this just goes to show the versatility of this art form and indeed the artist. Ozzy Osbourne just adds the hook while Busta Rhymes does his thing. I doubt if headz will really appreciate this, but it just goes to show the more pop-ier collabos that are here... we have Janet Jackson on a classical commercial match up that is "What's It Gonna Be?!", nothing like the classy hip hop meets pop with Premo remixing Janet's "Together Again" - this is just pure hip-pop.

There's more... the obligatory Flipmode track "Against All Odds" that is just average ... a cast off from the Flipmode album perhaps ? Or is Busta working too hard. There's the match-up with No Limit's Mystikal on "Iz They Wildin Wit Us & Gettin Rowdy Wit Us" over an eerie track that doesn't really lead anywhere, although it is another track with a new style, this time in the style of Mystikal - fast and loud and is intriguing for that. Underground producer Diamond D donates an average cut - another song utilising the Incredible Bongo Band's "Apache".

By this time you are probably wondering, 'but what of the underground?' It's here... check the banging tracks "Everybody Rise", a piano laden track; "Where We Are About To Take It" reveals lyricism; and the all-singing title track is another gem ... all produced by Nottz - could be a name to watch out for.

Another thing I liked were the skits, not just the usual name dropping or answer phone sh*t. The intro is encompasses the ideas that Busta has that the world will end when the clock strikes midnight on December 31st, 1999. There's a South Park spoof with the kids in the forest with a counsellor and a bear, another with a played out playa.